No 2014 College football from EA

Electronic Arts will not be publishing a 2014 College football title next year. That is the word from EA and the company says that it is “evaluating our plan for the future of the franchise.” EA claims that the decision does not affect their commitment to the people who buy and play the College football games it produces, but it is hard to believe it at this point.

The decision comes as EA and CLC have settled the student athlete likeness lawsuit. As part of the terms of the lawsuit settlement, EA has agreed to change the way it develops games that feature NCAA athletes in order to protect the rights to their likeness. The terms of the settlement will be submitted to the court for approval and the settlement does not apparently include the NCAA who is still a defendant in this case.

The settlement news comes on the heels of the news that EA did not decide to renew its licensing with the NCAA, but it did cut a deal with the Collegiate Licensing Company to produce college football titles without the NCAA trademarks. So the way things stand, it looks as if this year’s college football title from EA could be the last one for a bit. We will have to wait and see how things shake out.